It's My Party

"I think our three priorities should be: 1) We stay safe, 2) We stay together…" He heard Hannah give an audible sigh of relief. "and 3) We work to get the heck out of here and back to our cars." He looked at a lounge clock and saw it was 9:10 AM. "If I remember correctly, sunset today will be around 4:15 PM, plus or minus a few minutes. That means we have seven hours to leave this place in full daylight. Forget about the snow. Once we're back at the parking lot, we can hike to Lost Nation Road on foot if we have to and ask for help at a house."

He took a deep breath. "In the interest of working to get out of here, I'm going to stretch the point about what it means to stay together. I want everyone in the group to always be within hearing range of each other, and let's all try to stay within sight of each other too if possible."

He paused and added, "And I think we need to do a little exploring before we choose our route out of here. So, Emily, Ashley, you're with me. Jada, will you stand by the door near the elevator and watch us? We won't go far. I just want to see what's on the other side."

Jada nodded. A moment later Mark, Emily, and Ashley walked south through a short vestibule alongside the elevator core, approximately one meter by three with a slanting wall opposite them showing another door. They walked through the vestibule, the elevator core on their right, a deep closet on their left, and a few white diodes high above them providing adequate light. They went through another door and found themselves standing at the vertex of a long walkway running roughly east-west but also bending back north in both directions. The walkway was about three meters across and had a high oval ceiling which was as clear as glass. Before them to the south was a third enclosed park, and this one was enormous.

They were behind the goal of the largest soccer pitch Mark had ever seen. He estimated the playing field was about 120 meters long and 90 meters wide, with the many-sided perimeter buildings providing a huge open area around the pitch. The goal nets were up and the court lines brightly painted in white. It appeared to be a natural-grass field, and it looked ready for play. Mark turned and waved for Jada to join them. Fatima took Jada's place at the door. The four stared at the field in silence.

Emily finally commented, "Boy, not what I was expecting." They all realized that their lounge area was at the top of a broad architectural arrowhead, with the top arrowhead being the walkways to their left and right and the stem of the arrow being the rooms behind them running north.

"I know what this is!" shouted Emily. "My God, this is so majestic! See how the soccer park is enclosed by a twelve-sided building? Imagine a hexagonal honeycomb. Pick and remove one vertex and the three line segments attached to it. Don't you see? Each line segment is shared by a pair of hexagons. That's what we're looking at here, three hexagons joined together by the lack of a vertex and those three line segments. We're standing at the vertex north of the vertex that was removed. This is so vast! My God, what a concept!"

Mark nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm guessing about a hundred meters for the length of the unit hexagonal line segments."

Emily nodded back happily. "Yep. I think that's just about right."

Jada's face turned into a deep frown as she stared at the soccer field. "I'm confused. I remember the tunnel we walked through to reach the elevator. It must run directly underneath this field. And yet… I don't remember the tunnel being this long, not at all. What do you think Emily, how far to the other side?"

Emily was still smiling, overwhelmed by the architectural marvel and not paying too much attention to what her roommate was saying. "Oh, that's easy. Assume the line segments really are a hundred meters. Remember the structure of a perfect hexagon? It's made up of six isosceles triangles. Thus it's a hundred meters south of here to the vertex which isn't there, plus another two triangle lengths to the vertex which is there. Opposite vertices of a perfect hexagon are always separated by two triangle lengths. So the distance south to the far vertex is… three hundred meters…"

Mark turned and stared at Jada. "You're right. The tunnel last night was long, but it sure as hell wasn't three hundred meters. What's going on? This should be impossible."

"Wait a minute everybody," said Emily. "You guys are forgetting something. The elevator last night had that weird ninety-degree bend in it, remember? We actually approached…" she pointed due east, "…from that direction."

Emily thought for a moment as she thought about the problem and stared at the opposite face of the opened eastern hexagon. "Well, that helps somewhat. Opposite faces of a regular hexagon are separated by a side length times… square root three. So, a hundred seventy-some meters… Hell, you're right Mark, that's still way too long, isn't it?" She took a deep breath. "I'm thinking maybe it wasn't just a simple elevator. Maybe it moved horizontally as well. It did go to all the different parties, and the trip did take a long time, what, three and half minutes, remember? Uh, fearless leader?"

Mark grinned. "Yeah?"

"Did you feel any horizontal motion on your elevator ride?"

Mark pondered the question. "Uh, no. My group did think it was a bizarre ride though. We even thought it might be a prank. But I didn't feel any motion at all, up, down, sideways, not even a vibration." He took a deep breath and sighed, staring at the field for a while. "I'm confused too. The human body is very sensitive to sideways motion. I can't imagine we could take a horizontal trip without knowing about it. And yet, here is the field… Wait a minute. Ashley, last night, didn't you say you thought the elevator was going down very slowly, right at the beginning of the ride?"

"Yeah, I think so…" Her nervous, squeaking voice tried to sound hopeful. "The tunnel…" She pointed across the grass to the vertex due east. "I guess it could have been as long as this field…"

Emily and Jada stared at each other, both trying hard not to laugh. Emily then turned to Ashley and worked hard to keep derisive astonishment from her voice. In a neutral tone she asked, "Close to two hundred meters, you think so?"

"Well…" Ashley squirmed. "Could the elevator have turned while we were in it? We went through so many turns getting here… I remember the darkness, and the moonlight. Then we came to the stairwell and walked down to the tunnel, and then…" Her face lit up. "I know! The access tunnel doesn't run east! It runs north, in the direction of the kitchen! The elevator did a slow quarter spin as it ascended!"

Mark grinned at the thought. Emily could no longer contain her laughter. "No way! I can just see myself suggesting that in one of my design courses. Hey Professor Collins, let's take out this spiral staircase and put in a spiraling elevator instead. Ashley, the guy would send me back to kindergarten."

"Oh, don't be too hard on her Emily," Jada chided her roommate as she looked across the eastern expanse. "I can't imagine the tunnel we walked through was as long as this field. What other explanation is there? Wait a minute! Where the hell are the other parties?!" She turned around and looked through the clear glass oval. "Look! There are no floors above us! Could the other five parties all be on the first floor? Is that possible?"

Emily dismissed Jada's question. "No idea. But the answer is not a spiraling elevator. Can you imagine how complicated that would be? You'd be twisting the lifting cables. It would be a terrible idea."

"I know!" Ashley replied. "How about the other parties led to different underground levels?"

"Oh Ashley," said Emily dismissively, "No residential building goes that deep."

Mark sighed as he listened to the argument. It was fun physics, but it just wasn't getting them anywhere. He looked down the long corridors towards northerly east and northerly west for a moment. They were standing at the southern vertex of a vast hexagon. "I was hoping we could do a little more exploring, but it's a hundred meters in either direction to the next junction. I don't want to wander that far from the rest of the group." He paused and added, "Emily, you're our architecture expert. Do you see what I see, how strange this setup is without stairs?"

Emily nodded as she frowned. "Oh yeah, I sure do. This place is a firetrap! There are no stairwells in sight on this level. Who would build like this? How could a zoning board approve this? Why didn't the building inspectors object? These are major-league code violations, red flag. It makes no sense!"

"I agree," said Mark. "And there's something else to. These walkways remind me of a precision optical bench. They're works of art. My eye can't pick up any imperfection at all. You're right, who builds like this? It reminds me of the elevator. Masterful, precise engineering but without the most basic of safety features. Bizarre."

Ashley made a small whining sound. "Mark, you're scaring me."

Jada added another thought. "And the temperature in here. It's pleasant, almost as warm as the lounge, quite a contrast to our trip on the other side of the elevator. Walking here last night, I thought the place was months away from opening. Look at the size of this corridor! Why spend a fortune heating it now?"

Ashley was almost crying as she whispered, "Well, maybe there are stairs in the other direction… I know! We saw lots of unfinished stairs last night. Maybe they have plans for stairs here. They're just not built yet."

Emily didn't seem to realize how emotionally upset Ashley was getting. She dismissed Ashley's idea out-of-hand. "No. Stairwells are basic features, visible right from the start. You don't complete everything else and then cut the stairs in later."

Ashley just stood there trembling. Mark touched her shoulder and she leaned against him. They gazed for another minute at the huge field and darkening clouds and then turned back to the short corridor.

"Mark, look," said Ashley. "There's no handle on this side of the door." Mark paused for a second and nodded. If Jada hadn't been holding the door open, they would have needed someone from the inside to let them in.

"No luck at all Mark," a worried Madison said as they returned to the lounge. "I've tried voice, text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, nothing's getting through. It's frustrating."

Her brother nodded and then noticed how upset his sister and her two classmates seemed. "Uh, I think we should give ourselves a little preparation time before we leave this place. Maddy, keep dialing and switch with someone when you get tired. Everybody else, there's a great kitchen and bathroom nearby. Let's spend a half hour to unwind and have some breakfast. We'll move out at 10 AM."

Chapter 5.

The R & R time was taking a bit longer than Mark had first estimated, but he was sure he was making the right decision. It was now 10:15 AM, and his sister and two classmates were happily finishing their showers together in the large bathroom. Emily stood by the open door in the connecting pantry, acting as the link that kept the group connected. Jada and Fatima stood a few feet away. Jada had Madison's phone plugged into a nearby outlet, and she was idly typing 911 every twenty seconds or so. So far there was still no luck with making contact with the outside.

As they waited, Mark wandered the length of the pantry. There were a few chairs and a small eating table at the eastern end, and he gazed at the pine and spruce park through the window. After a moment Fatima walked over and joined him. She seemed a little shy at first, but then they made eye contact and held it for a long moment. Fatima grinned and said, "Interesting choice you made, giving the group this much time to relax."

Mark looked at her. She had on her headscarf again, but he remembered her from early this morning. Such pretty chestnut hair… Mark cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. I thought my sister and her friends…" He looked at Fatima's thoughtful nod and realized he didn't have to finish his sentence.

Fatima gave him a kind smile. "Oh, I'm not complaining. I have to hand it to you Mark. When you first suggested it, I wouldn't have dreamed people would want to shower in such a strange place. But now I can't wait for my own shower. A common theme in both our religions I think, using water to wash away our sins."

Mark nodded, thinking about how they all were struggling with what happened last night. The plan was for Emily, Jada, and Fatima to take a shower next, then Mark alone with Madison at the doorway, and then they would all finally head out. Mark still wasn't sure which direction he wanted to pick. Nobody seemed to have much of an opinion anymore.

So far they hadn't done any exploring further north except to poke a head out of the other door of the bathroom. It led to a long carpeted corridor three meters wide with eight doors on each side and pleasant skylights in the ceiling. There was also a seventeenth door at the far end. Maybe he would pick that. The large soccer field was to the south in the direction of the cars, but somehow that just seemed the wrong direction to take. The huge multi-hexagonal soccer park just looked so unfamiliar.

He thought again of his sister and friends and replied to Fatima's earlier comment. "It's not just that. My sister, Ashley and Hannah too, they're great people, but they've never been on their own. My parents are rich, and Ashley's and Hannah's are even richer. All three of them are still in high school. I'm not trying to hide anything from them, just giving them a little extra time to adjust. They've led very sheltered lives, and our situation… seems so damn strange."

Fatima nodded back. "I think it's a great decision to rest and take the time to consider our next move. I wouldn't have thought of this. You're taking very good care of us Mark."

He grinned at the compliment.

She paused. "How much danger do you think we're in?"

Mark frowned. "I hate to say it, but maybe quite a bit. The drug that was used against us, I've never heard of anything like it, a total suppression of our social inhibitions. Our primal fears were in complete control."

Fatima looked thoughtful. "Not just fears Mark. I think our primal hopes were in control too. The drug did not turn us into monsters. It just… released us somehow. I think it made us show the world who we truly are, in a way we normally never dare."

She paused and frowned. "But I think I agree with you on one point. We survived last night and we survived well. My guilt is only from sexual frolic, and I suspect that's true of the others as well. Our gentle natures saved us Mark. But the drug in the body of an angry and cruel person, someone who can not see the value in others, the drug there might indeed create a monster."

Mark sighed. "Yes, and the people who did this to us, I think of them as monsters too, don't you? They drugged us without our consent, without even our knowledge. It was an awful crime…" He stared at Fatima facial expression. "You don't think so?"

Fatima shrugged. "We understand almost nothing about this place, and what we do know doesn't make any sense. I'd rather keep an open mind about the motivations of the people who drugged us."

Mark was silent for a long moment, considering her point, and then he slowly nodded. "Yes, I agree with you. You've changed my mind." He looked at her gratefully. "Thanks!"

"My pleasure!"

"Fatima, you're a foreign exchange student, aren't you?"

"Yep, from Kuwait."

Mark's face froze. "Kuwait? Ah…"

Fatima nodded. "It's really not that surprising anymore. There've been tremendous changes in the last four years… since the war."

Mark's eyes were full of sympathy. "Yes, the war. What a tragedy. Were you there when the bombs went off?"

"Yes, with my family."

In great tenderness, Mark asked. "Did they survive?"

"Yes. In Allah's mercy, we were upwind of the fallout pattern." She gave a deep sigh. "It's amazing looking back, how much power the governments let the militias have. We all thought the bombs were meant for Israel."

Mark was about to reply when his sister and friends came out of the bathroom dressed, smiling and chatting and drying their hair. The time to unwind had worked wonders. Mark talked with them as the other three women bathed.

Time: Saturday, 10:43 AM EST, December 22, 2018

With an moderately good charge in both Mark's and Madison's phones, the group set out north carrying everything they arrived with, plus some food and bottles of water from the kitchen. Their first stop was to check out the rooms off the main corridor north of the bathroom. They appeared to be typical though expensive fraternity dorm rooms.

The rooms were a bit of a puzzle. Like the lounge, they were very spacious, approximately six meters square. They had top-of-the-line furnishings and beautiful gleaming hardwood floors. Large desks, beds beyond king-size, ample shelves for books and closets and chests for clothing, the rooms had all the basic needs plus very pleasant views of the forest or sand parks below.

But had anybody ever lived here? The drawers held piles of fresh towels and linens but no individual clothing and all the book shelves were bare. There were also no decorations on the wall. Each room had distinctive desk lamps and a throw rug or two, but they all looked brand new. It was the group's consensus that the rooms had never been occupied.

At the northern edge of the corridor of rooms they came to an end wall that had a slightly inward curvature. Outside the building they were about halfway down the lengths of the two enclosed trapezoidal parks. Jada went first through the end door and there they finally found their first stairway, and it was magnificent.

It was a great circular room sixteen meters in diameter, with a dome directly above them of sparkling clear glass supported by ribbing of a golden alloy. There was a four-meter wide annulus of polished stone for the floor, and then a circular open vista with an eight-meter diameter spiraling staircase below. Through the glass they could see that further north the sand and forest parks joined, separated only by a pink cobblestone walkway. The walls and stair treads appeared to be a combination of a blue and white marble and dark gray granite, with the circular stairs spiraling down.

Emily couldn't help herself. She fell in love with the design. She peered over the annulus railing and exclaimed. "Look how far down it goes! Way below ground level, twenty meters at least! And I think we have access to the parks!"

They hiked down to ground level, a second four-meter circular annulus, and had their first choice to make. There were three possibilities of where to go next, north through an outside door to the cobblestone walkway, around the annulus to a southern door leading to the floor before where they had been, or to continue further down the stairwell. Jada walked around the stone annulus to the southern door and looked back at Mark. He nodded and she entered. The group followed a few seconds later.

It was a game room, and it was huge, the same size of the lounge except for the fact that half the great cylinder of the stairwell room was jugging into it to form the fourth wall. It took Mark a moment to realize what else was so unusual about the room. It appeared to have no electronic games. But there were chess and card tables arranged in several sitting areas and the walls were covered by shelves holding many hundreds, no, it must be thousands of board games.